


Charcoal and Radiance

by digitaldreams



Series: Digital's Takari Week Drabbles [7]
Category: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Angst, Dark Ocean, F/M, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Takari Week 2020, not beta read we die like leomon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26040409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitaldreams/pseuds/digitaldreams
Summary: "Charcoal could no longer touch her as long as he continued to glow with his beautiful radiance, and he never ran out of sunshine."~~~~~Hikari struggled to come up for air after the Dark Ocean tried to drown her.
Relationships: Takaishi Takeru | T.K. Takaishi/Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya
Series: Digital's Takari Week Drabbles [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1881808
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Charcoal and Radiance

**Author's Note:**

> Day Number: Seven
> 
> Prompt: Comfort and Healing
> 
> Time Frame: After episode thirteen of 02

Hikari’s steps were weighted and heavy for the rest of the day after she escaped from the grip of the creatures of shadow. The darkened sea’s waves echoed in her mind, a constant buzzing that she couldn’t seem to run from no matter how fast she moved. The pounding of her heart slamming against her ribcage was all that could be heard above the cacophony, and even as afternoon sunlight kissed her features, she couldn’t forget all that had taken place. 

There were endless questions waiting for her and Takeru when they stepped through the gateway that bridged the screaming ocean’s home and her own. The words were overwhelming her, and Hikari was left to walk home on her own after insisting that she was alright. She would tell them all the truth soon enough since she had learned the danger of passively bottling everything until it exploded. She couldn’t drip water into the glass forever, because when the container burst, she would be left drowning, and Hikari didn’t know what she would have done if she was hit with a powerful wave like that again. She hadn’t been able to free herself, and it had all been thanks to Takeru that she survived in the first place. 

She shut the door upon arriving back at her family’s apartment. She turned on all the lights as the sun began its slow descent on the horizon, unwilling to allow the tides to overwhelm her again. Hikari could banish the shadows to the corners of the room until the time came for her to explain everything that had taken place. She would do it one day, but there was only so much she could handle in one day. 

Nobody was home when she first arrived, and time seemed to flow past her in a blur. She didn’t even realize how long she had been sitting alone in her room until a gentle knock tapped at the front door. She was so far away that she could barely hear the soft noise, and it prompted her to look at her phone for the time. It had been over an hour and a half. Her hand was shaking. How long had she been sitting in the false security of artificial light while trembling in fear of the ocean drowning her permanently? 

Hikari’s movements were slow as she made her way towards the front of her apartment. She let her fingers touch the knob carefully, and the cold of the metal shocked her enough for her to rip her hand away with a cry of agonized surprise. It was far too chilled, and it was too grim a reminder of the hell that she had barely managed to evade the grip of earlier that day. 

It took her far too long to persuade herself that she was safe, and she forced herself to curl her fingers around the knob after standing still as a statue with breathless gasps pushing their way through her lips. When she finally did, she realized that her actions had somehow grown less stable than before, and she couldn’t convince her body to stop shaking like a leaf in the wind. 

_ The cold wind that blew through the beach, the cold wind that tried to push her closer to the water, the cold wind that could have gotten her killed-- _

Takeru was standing on the other side, his expression somber. He had regained his hat since their earlier encounter, and a carefully crafted smile was on his face. He tilted his head to the side silently in a greeting that she understood seamlessly. 

“Come in,” Hikari told him once she managed to find her footing enough to speak. She allowed him entry into the apartment before shutting the door, glad to no longer be touching the knob that she could have sworn hadn’t been that cold always. 

“How are you doing?” Takeru questioned, removing his shoes before taking a step closer to her. Concern was etched into his features, and he had a silent brand of empathy in his expression that had always been reserved for Hikari alone. 

Hikari opened her lips to lie, but she couldn’t force the words to tumble free of her tongue. Takeru had been there and seen everything. If she was going to talk to anyone, it was going to have to be him until she figured out how to properly explain all that had taken place. 

“Not well,” Hikari admitted, her gaze dropping with the shameful confession. Explaining this to Takeru was for the best, and she was fully aware of such, but that didn’t make opening up any easier to her. 

Takeru wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she found herself leaning into his torso immediately. He was so warm, a beacon of hope against the darkness that had spent so long attempting to suffocate her. Hikari found a sigh of relief releasing itself from her lungs, and her eyes slipped closed. For the first time in too long, she didn’t fear the blackness that encased her vision. 

Takeru led her over to the nearby couch before sitting down, and she curled up against his body reflexively. She slowly opened her eyes to see him watching her with a careful delicacy that she hadn’t witnessed from him since they were children. “I’m here for you,” he assured her. “I won’t let them take you.”

Hikari didn’t realize that she was crying until well after the tears started to flow. Takeru had done so much all for her sake, and he would continue to do more as she stumbled through her darkest hours. He was her hope, standing within the single ray of sunshine that existed in the realm of shadow. Takeru had pried a hole in the sky with his bare hands to create such illumination, and he continued to share his golden radiance with her. 

Once again, time seemed to pass by as an afterthought as Hikari pressed herself against his body. Takeru stroked at her hair carefully, adjusting himself to fully embrace her on the cushions. So much had taken place, but he was still there for her. It was just like him, and even after years spent apart, they were the same as they always had been. 

Hikari’s tears dried up while she was lost in time. For but a moment, she thought that perhaps there was hope in her future. She wasn’t alone anymore, and she hadn’t been for a long time. Acknowledging such was her first step towards liberation, and he was going to be there for her every step of the way. 

“I’m here for you,” Takeru repeated. “You aren’t alone. We’ll get through this together.” His words were pressed against her chestnut hair as he brushed his fingers against the base of his neck. Much to her surprise, Hikari found herself believing everything that he said, and the shadows of the room seemed to vanish, suddenly lacking the hands they had used to reach for her. She was going to be alright, and she was going to heal while bathed in the gold that thrived in and around her best friend. 

Charcoal could no longer touch her as long as he continued to glow with his beautiful radiance, and he never ran out of sunshine. 

**Author's Note:**

> You guys didn't really think day three would be the only angst you got, right? I sure hope not, because I had to do content of Takeru comforting Hikari since I already gave you the reverse. Ta-da!
> 
> Even if this is an angsty piece, I wanted to end it on a positive note. The concept of comfort is meant to extend into the future for this story, promising Hikari closure in the future. She certainly gets to feeling better about it in the future, but for now, Takeru is there for her. How fitting. 
> 
> I can't believe Takari Week is already over! I've really enjoyed taking part of this event, and I'm so glad that I decided to jump into it. Writing all of these pieces has been an absolute joy, and I really did enjoy both working on my own content and reading the pieces written by others. Thank you all so much for making Takari Week 2020 so incredible. 
> 
> Before we part ways, I'm going to do a little bit of shameless plugging for my other Digimon stories. I have two multi-chapter works for Digimon, one for Adventure and one for Frontier. For Adventure, I have [Apex of the World](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23291467/chapters/55782229), a character analysis series about the twelve kids from Adventure and 02. For Frontier, I'm working on a full rewrite of the season under the name of [Frontiers Unexplored](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24467377/chapters/59050438). Regardless of if you choose to check those out or not, I thank you for your continued support during my first ever fandom event. I love all of you readers for tuning in for my pieces, and I really do hope that you liked them. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you all again next time I write Takari! Have a nice day, everyone!
> 
> -Digital


End file.
